SANTA CRUZ (8-30) – UC Santa Cruz received a hat trick from Ari Sidman en route to a 3-0 victory over NCAA Division II member Academy of Art University to begin their 2019 campaign.

In the first half, Sidman would score the first goal of the season with 31:46 left in the half off a pass from Liam Laird. With 16:19 left, Sidman would score his second on an off-speed floater from nineteen yards out to give the Banana Slugs a 2-0 lead at halftime.

The second half was physical between the two teams as they combined for nineteen fouls and four yellow cards. Sidman would add his final tally of the match with 7:11 left after assists from Ben Blackfield and Christian Locatelli. With the victory, the Banana Slugs won their season opener for the first time since 2012.

Sidman had a match-high five shots to lead the Banana Slugs while for Academy of Art, Edvard Edvarsson had three shots. Goalkeeper Gerry Delorie stopped a breakaway in the second half for his only save and tallied his second career shutout.

The Banana Slugs will hit the road for the first time on Wednesday as they take on NAIA member Menlo College in Atherton. Kickoff is set for 4:30 pm.